Evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function: evidence for an increasing M* from z=2 to the present day
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Evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function : evidence for an increasing M* from z=2 to the present day. / Adams, N. J.; Bowler, R. A. A.; Jarvis, M. J.; Haeussler, B.; Lagos, C. D. P.
In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 506, No. 4, 04.10.2021, p. 4933-4951.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function
T2 - evidence for an increasing M* from z=2 to the present day
AU - Adams, N. J.
AU - Bowler, R. A. A.
AU - Jarvis, M. J.
AU - Haeussler, B.
AU - Lagos, C. D. P.
PY - 2021/10/4
Y1 - 2021/10/4
N2 - Utilizing optical and near-infrared broad-band photometry covering >5deg(2) in two of the most well-studied extragalactic legacy fields (COSMOS and XMM-LSS), we measure the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) between 0.1 < z < 2.0. We explore in detail the effect of two source extraction methods (SExtractor and ProFound) in addition to the inclusion/exclusion of Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 mu m photometry when measuring the GSMF. We find that including IRAC data reduces the number of massive (log(10)(M/M-circle dot) > 11.25) galaxies found due to improved photometric redshift accuracy, but has little effect on the more numerous lower-mass galaxies. We fit the resultant GSMFs with double Schechter functions down to log(10)(M/M-circle dot) = 7.75 (9.75) at z = 0.1 (2.0) and find that the choice of source extraction software has no significant effect on the derived best-fitting parameters. However, the choice of methodology used to correct for the Eddington bias has a larger impact on the high-mass end of the GSMF, which can partly explain the spread in derived M* values from previous studies. Using an empirical correction to model the intrinsic GSMF, we find evidence for an evolving characteristic stellar mass with delta log(10)(M*/M-circle dot)/delta z = , when using SExtractor (ProFound). We argue that with widely quenched star formation rates in massive galaxies at low redshift (z < 0.5), additional growth via mergers is required in order to sustain such an evolution to a higher characteristic mass.
AB - Utilizing optical and near-infrared broad-band photometry covering >5deg(2) in two of the most well-studied extragalactic legacy fields (COSMOS and XMM-LSS), we measure the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) between 0.1 < z < 2.0. We explore in detail the effect of two source extraction methods (SExtractor and ProFound) in addition to the inclusion/exclusion of Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 mu m photometry when measuring the GSMF. We find that including IRAC data reduces the number of massive (log(10)(M/M-circle dot) > 11.25) galaxies found due to improved photometric redshift accuracy, but has little effect on the more numerous lower-mass galaxies. We fit the resultant GSMFs with double Schechter functions down to log(10)(M/M-circle dot) = 7.75 (9.75) at z = 0.1 (2.0) and find that the choice of source extraction software has no significant effect on the derived best-fitting parameters. However, the choice of methodology used to correct for the Eddington bias has a larger impact on the high-mass end of the GSMF, which can partly explain the spread in derived M* values from previous studies. Using an empirical correction to model the intrinsic GSMF, we find evidence for an evolving characteristic stellar mass with delta log(10)(M*/M-circle dot)/delta z = , when using SExtractor (ProFound). We argue that with widely quenched star formation rates in massive galaxies at low redshift (z < 0.5), additional growth via mergers is required in order to sustain such an evolution to a higher characteristic mass.
KW - galaxies: abundances
KW - galaxies: evolution
KW - galaxies: general
KW - ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
KW - LYMAN-BREAK GALAXIES
KW - SPECTRAL ENERGY-DISTRIBUTIONS
KW - STAR-FORMATION RATES
KW - LUMINOSITY FUNCTION
KW - BLACK-HOLES
KW - ASSEMBLY GAMA
KW - PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS
KW - SOURCE EXTRACTION
KW - COSMIC EVOLUTION
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stab1956
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stab1956
M3 - Journal article
VL - 506
SP - 4933
EP - 4951
JO - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices
JF - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 4
ER -
ID: 282471538